Funding and Levy

Apprenticeships are funded either via the levy (for employers with a payroll of over £3million) or via co-investment for smaller employers. Each standard is assigned one of 30 Funding Bands which range from £1,500 to £27,000. You can read full details about how funding works on the Education and Skills Funding Agency pages.

NHS Employers has some excellent resources available, including how to use the levy, how to access the Digital Apprenticeship Service, how to transfer funds and more.

All funding enquiries must be directed to nationalhelpdesk@apprenticeships.gov.uk

Resources:

• The NHS Apprenticeship Levy Study: The 2022 edition (February 2023)
• The Apprenticeship Levy Study: NHS Trusts (March 2018)
• Department for Education: How to register and use the apprenticeship service as an employer
• How the levy is spent
• How the levy works

For non-levied employers, such as most Primary Care providers, both the employer and the government pay the training provider for apprenticeship training – 5% from the employer and 95% from the Government from April 2019. All apprenticeships that started before 1 April 2019 will continue at the previous co-investment rate of 10%.

Providers without a non-levy contract can continue to provide training directly to levy-paying employers and to non-levy payers if the employer is receiving transferred funds or they are providing training as a sub-contractor.

Non-levy paying employers receiving transfers from larger levy paying employers, can use these transferred funds to cover 100% of apprenticeship costs.

New measures announced from April 2024 include,

• From 1st April 2024, SME employers who do not pay the levy no longer have to contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training for 16–21-year-olds – government is fully funding the training costs for these individuals.
• From 6th April 2024, levy-paying employers can transfer up to 50% of their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses – double the current 25%

Access the gov.uk Press Release for further information.

Resources: 

• Government Information for employers who don’t pay the levy

Reserve Apprenticeship Funding

As a smaller employer, who does not pay the apprenticeship levy, you can reserve funds in the ‘finance’ section of your apprenticeship service account. You can also give your training provider permission to reserve them on your behalf.

Resources:

• How to set up a digital service account & reserve apprenticeship funding
• ESFA “How to reserving apprenticeship funding” 

Did you know that if you’re not a levy-paying organisation you can receive funds from one that is? Or if you are, that you can transfer some of your funds to help others?

Transfer funds can pay for the costs of training and assessment and can be accessed quickly and efficiently. Those making a transfer support other employers in their local health and social care systems and support the skills base within the wider economy.

We have recently added some additional resources to the Levy transfer section of the toolkit. These include:

• ESFA Levy Transfer guidance. Learn more about auto approval.
• If you are interested in finding out more about sending or receiving a levy transfer please contact nhsapprenticeships@hee.nhs.uk .
• Find a business to fund apprenticeship training here. As a business of any size, you can use this service to apply for funding from large businesses that want to fund 100% of your apprenticeship training and assessment costs.

Apprentices are salaried employees during their apprenticeship.  The minimum wage per hour for an apprentice (correct as at April 2024) is £6.40 during the first year of their apprenticeship at any age. 

These are the current minimum wage rates:

• 21 and over: £11.44
• 18 to 20: £8.60
• Under 18: £6.40
• Apprentice: £6.40

From 1 April 2024, workers aged 21 and over will be entitled to the National Living Wage.

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:

• aged under 19
• aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they both:

• are aged 19 or over
• have completed the first year of their apprenticeship

In health, many organisations may choose to pay their trainees more than the minimum wage, view below.

Resources:

• HASO Printable: How to Fund the Salary of Apprentices
• NHS Employers Agenda for Change
• The NHS Staff Council guidance on apprenticeships

To implement the Long Term Workforce Plan, NHS England is developing an apprenticeship funding approach that supports employers with the cost of employing an apprentice. Details of this funding policy will be published here shortly.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency produce a list of rules for employer providers, training providers and performance management.

Resources: 

Education and Skills Funding Agency

• The Levy
• Funding rules
• Funding rules – August 2024 to July 2025 Summary of changes – Draft